LHC orders Punjab govt to issue divorce certificates to non-Muslims

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Wednesday directed the Punjab government to frame, within 90 days, rules under which union councils would issue divorce certificates to members of Christian and other non-Muslim communities in Pakistan.

In many parts of the country, the divorce certificates are not issued to non-Muslims by union councils that instead claimed such certificates were “not issued to the Christian community.” The issue was brought to the attention of the LHC during the case Shumaila Sharif vs the secretary union council etc.

The petitioner in her appeal requested that the court to diect the relevant union council to issue her the divorce certificate. The petition was heard on December 16 last year and the presiding judge was Judge Tariq Saleem Sheikh. During the proceedings, the counsel of the petitioner, Advocate Umar Saeed, said Punjab Local Government Act 2022 and Article 36 of the Constitution, expressly requires the state to protect the minorities’ legitimate rights and interests. He said by refusing to issue the requisite certificate, the council was failing to fulfil its legal duty. Additionally, Advocate Kashif Alexander, the court’s amicus curiae, contended that obtaining a divorce certificate is a legal right that cannot be denied.

The court directed that until the provincial government framed the requisite rules needed for the issuance of the divorce certificate by the union council, NADRA shall accommodate the Christian community in accordance with the Registration Policy 19.